Hello all. I am new to the forum and am beginning Ideal Protein on Thursday. y partner and his son are not-dieters (they are skinny minnies) and I ... well ... I am not a skinny minny. How do you all handle these situations? Any tips? As well, how do you avoid the chocolate at the office which is quietly (or not so quietly sometimes) calling out to you?

Thanks!

I tell my people to keep it on the other side of the room, LOL But, honestly, it's more about willpower than anything.

I don't know what kind of chocolate you have around your office but my husband just told me this story tonight when he got home.

His department has a few candy dispensers on a common area platform and they are filled with M&Ms (peanut, regular, you name it). They aren't fancy dispensers, just like from Target or whatever. Well, the peanut one jams because the M&Ms are a bit larger so they get stuck in the shoot.

One of his guys had to work late last night and the cleaning crew showed up while he was still there. The cleaning guy is emptying the trash, dusting, wiping down whatever he cleans. Then...the guy that works with my husband hears the M&Ms rattling and just happens to look over (not caring that he's helping himself to a few M&Ms) and the guy has the top cover of the dispenser off and he's sticking his hand in to grab a handful (the same hand that just emptied trash, cleaned the surfaces, etc.!). Needless to say, the container was dumped and a new bag of M&Ms were put in.

So I asked, who's emptying the container tomorrow and how many times has this guy stuck his dirty hand in the bowl?? YUCK!

I won't tell you the story of his last boss who never washed his hands in the mens room but helped himself to the pretzel snack canister every afternoon.

If that's not enough to keep you away from office snacks, I don't know what is! And sorry for the gross stories!

Good luck on your weightloss!

Elvis, that is exactly why I never partake in any work lunch stuff or work food ANYTHING, unless I see it brought in from take out. Or in a sealed container. Even then. Gahhh.

Sarita, I think the best way to overcome both work and at home temptations, are to rid of it. I understand at work you probably don't have much of a say.

At home, it could also be challenging but doable. What I myself have done with my boyfriend, is any chips, cookies, snacks, candy.. anything really tempting (the temptation DOES simmer down as mines basically gone now). I asked him to keep those things somewhere "hidden". It could be behind a cook book, or a can of pop far in the back of the fridge. Anything so it's not in plain view has helped a lot.

On the flip side, now that I've gotten over my "crazy cravings", I actually WANT those things in front of me. I want him to eat them in front of me. I want to go to a social gathering and have all my friends devour a pizza and chips and cake. Because this is a lifelong thing. It's not just a diet, it's a lifestyle change. And I've chosen to not live under a rock. I need my socialization just as bad as anyone else, and for that, there's going to be A LOT of times I'll need to discipline myself. So far I haven't caved much (other than a few vodkas Saturday nights). But since I'm going to be at this lifestyle for life, I want to get used to being surrounded by temptation, and have the strength to resist. Now mind you it's taken a few months to this point. But it DOES get easier.

Thanks for the laugh (image of the cleaning guy grabbing fistfuls of M&Ms) -- and the warning! I'll share the story with my family.

Freelance

I agree with considering the gross factor. The other thing that helps me is thinking about it as "not mine", so if the food is not mine I cannot eat it. It either belongs to somebody at the office or to another family member but its clearly not mine because I didn't buy it or bring it in nor it is on my plan for the day. Therefore I shouldn't eat somebody else's food.

I used to intern at a non-profit organization that kept a basket of candy in the front office & one of the ladies that worked there kept a magazine or some other kind of paper over it so she couldn't see it. I was so glad because if I don't see the candy, I'll forget it's even there & won't be tempted. Otherwise, I would have been grabbing a hershey's kiss every time I walked by. Covering it works! Luckily, every one else completely understood, too.

Ha! I hid the chocolates this morning. My boss, on a sugar craving, freaked out. I showed him where they are and explained why I moved them. He understood.

It can be hard in an office setting. I work at a 911 center and we always have officers bringing us in sweet treats that their wives made us. One of our Corporals brings in homemade Twix bars and all kinds of awesome stuff. It's tough resisting, but I've done really well this time around.

I was thinking about this the other day, though...why do people think it's funny to eat something like that in front of a dieter and exaggerate the "mmmm" noises while doing so, while asking "you suuuuuuuuuuuuure you don't want some???" I mean, you wouldn't do that to a diabetic, would you??? Aside from mmmm noises being rude in general, trying to tempt someone that is trying to conform to a diet is just plain cruel.

my BIL LITERALLY tossed several mini chocolates in my lap one day at a social gathering after I had refused the candy and the birthday cake and said "are you SURE you don't want some? you KNOW you want some?"....and I was like WTH? and gave them to my teenager...i'd never heard him say anything like that before LOL ...so random

Yikes, I worked in one for 10 years so I know exactly how that is (although I'm sure it might be more difficult in Georgia!!!). I used to bring my giant packed cooler and had to repeat over and over in my head ("I can only eat what's in the cooler"). It's hard, for sure.